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We slept in and were in no rush to go down for breakfast. We took our time and did our Sudoku Challenge. After a number of “DNF’s” Sharon did manage to put one in the Win-Column yesterday; and, I didn’t think my 85% was going to hold up for the Intricate Weekday challenge, but it did! Each puzzle on our “Enjoy Sudoku” app grades your performance as a percentile against others who have done the same puzzle, and depending on the level, this is usually in the many thousands of other players.
Today we had the vague notion that we were going to drive up and see Mount St. Helens. It’s sort of like when we were on Maui and had the notion to drive up Haleakala to see the sunrise and I joked with Sharon about whether she’d gotten our parking permit online ahead of time. She didn’t think that was all that funny. We spotted a Red Robin near the junction of the 205 and 5 Freeways; and, thought that might be a good place to stop on the way back. We followed the signs to the volcano and of course, Sharon was using the GPS
on her phone to get directions. We followed one sign to the “Ape Cave”, one end of the longest lava tube cave in the world. It extends about two and one-half miles. That’s when we noted that we DID need a parking permit; but, they had a self-serve setup that allowed us to deposit our saw-buck in the collection box. But you do need exact change. You can also purchase a multi-day pass for the mountain. There are stony steps down into the cave where the year round temperature would be welcome on a sun baked summer afternoon (which this was not). Sharon had eyed my heavy sweater and jacket with skepticism when we left the hotel room (but she did grab her own wind breaker); and, she later lamented not having donned something with long sleeves. I had check the temperature on the volcano earlier, and the daily high, which I assume was at the summit was around freezing. If you plan to venture down into the tube, you need to bring a flash light or lantern, and probably should wear boots appropriate for walking on rough and uneven surfaces.
Along one road that headed steeply
up the hill towards the “Climber’s Bivouac” we found the road abruptly closed due to it disappearing beneath a snowfield. We headed back down and then continued a circuitous route around and upward; but, again came to a road closure and a parking/camping area apparently catering to snow sports. We’d only caught a couple glimpses of the summit from the road; but, Sharon did manage a couple of pictures. The day hadn’t exactly gone as we’d planned; but, we still had Red Robin to look forward to.
We had a nice lunch; even, taking advantage of the buy one and get a second burger for half price special that Red Robin is offering for May to Red Robin Club Members. We went back to the hotel and did our laundry and decided to take it easy as the third leg of our journey comes to an end.
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